Different
by The Pyromaniac Hunter
Summary: Jason, Kate, and Lizzie, the so called "Children of the Mutations," have fought through zombies, crazy people, and lots of human waste to get to the military safe zone they arrived at. Although one of them may not keep their sanity to enjoy it as signs of a new Infected strain appear in Katelyn... But to her crumbling mind, "everything is fine." SEQUEL TO 'JASON'
1. After Hell

**Happily ever after?**

**I made sure that won't happen! :D**

**New Infected type coming later on, you can probably tell who it'll be. **

**If you haven't read my first story Jason, I strongly advise you do, but you can start here if you want!**

**Again, I appreciate comments and feedback, and if you complain, I'll call you out! :)**

**After Hell**

* * *

**~Jason~**

_**Kid, please-**_

"JASON..."

_**Alright. Jason, please. Just do this one test and we can stop for today.**_

That's all they wanted. Test, test, test. How would I react to this, what would I do with that? I was somewhat willing to help them research the virus, but in my opinion, it's starting to get a bit... abusive.

After we were rescued in New Orleans, we kept flying for about 10 hours, until we reached a heavily guarded base at the edge of a forest. Upon seeing the spiked wire over thick, cement walls, I immediately thought it was gonna be where I was going to die.

Yet, the second we touched down, we were treated with extreme care, splitting us up in groups. Katelyn, Lizzie, and I were brought deep in the facility for testing, while the Survivors were brought to another section where other Survivors were housed.

Once at the labs, they did everything with extreme caution, care, and masks.

Those masks were so annoying.

Even if I wasn't Infected, I'd still be glad to rip it off the scientists' spoiled faces. All of them were immune, and they didn't wear them around Lizzie, who got her own room and testing times.

According to what I heard, Lizzie was 'almost human.' The Infection was almost completely nonexistent inside her, leaving her with shorter claws, more natural blonde hair color, and less of an urge to attack. Her speech has gotten much better, and I noted her light Canadian accent.

Katelyn, however, was kept with me. I don't even know why. She survived two bites from Infected (Even if one was from me...) and wasn't even immune. But rather than learning what made her body fight the illness, they apparently still kept her restricted due to her "strain."

She didn't have a strain though...

That would mean she was **INFECTED-**

The air horn jolted me from my thoughts. That's how they kept me from snapping usually. If I showed any signs of 'losing' it, they'd blast it in my face to make me snap back to reality.

_**Jason...**_ a soft voice said to me, and I finally nodded. I would only listen to that voice. So soothing, calm, and it had a purpose... The voices of the other scientists were bland, their only use was to tell me to go wherever for whatever.

I looked at the wide, open area ahead of me, curious. Were they letting me leave the labs?

_**Your friends told us of the... 'feats' you made at the bridge,*_* the voice said in the loudspeakers. _**Apparently you managed to leap over 60 feet, and we... I... just wanted to see if it was true. It'd help us learn what makes you different from normal Hunters.**_

As far as I knew, the average of my strain, the Hunter, could leap about 25 feet. What happened on the bridge back in New Orleans is more of a blur than anything to me, so I wasn't sure if I made a feat like that.

I looked ahead, trying to find something that designated how far they wanted me to go. Something to signify the 60 feet the voice mentioned.

Finally, my eyes saw the small green flag amid the grass, about 60 feet away, and something sitting below it.

My urge for any form of meat gradually strengthened, until I tasted one specific kind. Nomatter how hungry I was or wasn't, I could not pass up for the thin strips of pork on the plate.

_Baaaacon_...

I closed my eyes, crouched low to the ground as I felt the muscles in my legs ready to spring. All that sat between me and my target was air.

'_Air was a mere obstacle. _

_You can ease through it if you can ignore it.'_

No screech, just silence as I sprung forward, the wind screaming by. I saw the ground below me, and landed feet-first as I hit the grass with a soft thud. My eyes scrambled around, until they finally rested on the plate of bacon quite the distance behind me.

After that, they walked me back to my room, Katelyn sleeping on one end in her dark green hoodie, which was surprisingly more bloody than I remember. I wasn't sure why the guards were so silent bringing me to my room. Usually they'd talk about anything, and literally, it was almost always complaining.

But today, they stayed in utter silence as they led me, and I faintly heard "110 feet..." from one as the door shut behind me in the room.

Nothing but silence and Katelyn's soft breaths for several more hours.

I guess this is as good as it'll get.

* * *

**~Katelyn~**

Everything is fine.

Some days, I wouldn't remember waking up, aside from finding myself beating a scientist's face in before being thrown back into the dark, unforgiving room.

I wouldn't remember why I'd be covered in blood that wasn't even mine, and I'd feel somewhat delighted by it for those first few seconds.

Everything is fine. The darkness was there to comfort me.

I wouldn't remember what led them to sedate me for every test, or why half of the scientists would be in casts or bandages the next time I see them.

I wouldn't remember why, just why, I wasn't allowed to be with the other Survivors, aside from strange glares by the guards.

Everything is fine. The darkness, the emptiness.

It was there to keep me company.

Some days, the worst days, I wouldn't even remember Jason, seeing his small blue form sleeping in the opposite end of the room, only to fall back asleep and forget it the next time I wake up.

Because usually, I'd be at something else's throat when I wake up.

Everything is fine. The darkness would assure me the person I tried to kill wasn't important anyway.

It felt good to attack them.

_'Mista, I am covered in zombie blood and puke and eyeballs and several other parts I don't even WANNA recognize, we are immune as SHIT!'_

Coach's voice echoed through my head, just that one sentence.

_'...We are immune...'_

I wasn't, though.

Right?

I must be.

Maybe I was just a little different.

That's what the darkness told me. I felt like there was something it'd be hiding, but it'd assure me again that I was just different.

_**'Everything is fine...**_' it said.

Every day.

All the time.

I believed the darkness.

Who was there to prove it wrong?

* * *

They said my eyes have changed color. They were a darker green now.

Another thing wrong with me.

**_'Not wrong,'_** the darkness had replied, **_'Different...'_**

I picked up everything they said around me. As far as they knew, I couldn't comprehend what happened around me with the sedatives they used, but everything came through crystal clear to me. Even a bit too harsh for my ears.

"You're telling me, that... that THING that attacked us, just goes back to this innocent girl?"

Me? Innocent? I killed people. That's not very innocent.

But I enjoyed every second of it now that the memories come back.

"Apparently the virus remains dormant at some times, when it's not turning her between normal and Infected, but... Obviously, it's taken a mental toll on her, too."

I remember when I wouldn't think frantically. When I could relax, maybe hum a song in my head, or daydream about... Well, anything.

But now I had the darkness. It kept my mind peaceful and clear, it did the thinking for me when I didn't want to.

But... what did they mean by Infected?

But now, my mind is shattered by the voice screaming at me.

A voice telling me to attack them, to kill them.

But I had to wait.

Now wasn't the perfect time.

"So, are you sure this will work on her?"

"Absolutely. We've tried this with 3 Smokers, 5 Witches, several Commons, and even a Tank, and their mental sanity returns to normal within that day."

"But, I thought she was different... A new strand. Hell, she charged at Parker 110 feet in less than a SECOND."

"She may be the first Proxy, or whatever the hell they called it, but this should still work. She was infected with the Hunter strain first, remember?"

That was the last I heard before my mind was flooded with darkness.

It screamed at me.

**'NOW. ATTACK. KILL.'**

**'FEED.'**

The darkness thought for me.

I was too exhausted.

I heard an ear-shattering screech as blood covered my hands, then, nothing.


	2. Overbeck

**Overbeck**

* * *

**~Lizzie~**

"Liz, can I come in?"

I jumped up at the sound of Zoey's voice on the other side of the door, smiling. "Yes, come in!" I hurriedly wiped the paint off my hands as she opened the door.

"Hey Liz-"

She gasped as she looked around the room, which didn't have a spot on it without paint.

I had somewhat of a photographic memory, and every time a nightmare came from the Infection, I'd paint it. It helped me deal with the depression, and soon enough a majority of the worst stopped flooding my mind.

Each wall had a different... "theme," I think, to it. The wall of the entrance was mostly sunsets, oceans, anything that involved lots of color. The left wall had a quick painting of all of the Survivors and scientists that come in, as a quick thanks for giving me a chance.

The right wall, my personal favorite, was of the camp itself. I couldn't go out and see it just yet, but they gave me pictures to reference off of when I asked. I can draw the most uninfected animals there.

The back wall, where I was holding the brush to, was my nightmares.

Dark, crude brush strokes of unrecognizable figures, red splashes everywhere, and swirls of hell, as I liked to think of it. I know, it's not healthy to think like that, but it was the only way to describe it. There would be bits of other Infected spread out on the wall, mostly attacking people I want to protect.

But, at the very center, was a memory I never wanted to forget, and improved on each day.

A middle-aged man, maybe 50 judging by his slightly graying hair, with a green vest, dark cargo pants, and a green beret, holding a small girl in a dark green jacket, about 2 or 3.

I remembered today that the vest was a US Army one, and there was a bar on the left side of it with a name. The name, I couldn't remember.

But I did know one thing.

That was my grandfather.

When Ellis saw the painting when he came, he told me not to let Zoey see it until it was "time", so I stood in front of it, hiding it.

"You made these...?" Zoey asked, and I gleefully nodded. "They are not that much," I responded, "Just ideas."

"They're... beautiful," she said, most of her time around the landscapes and Survivor paintings. She chuckled as she saw her painting, and looked to me slightly puzzled and amused. "Does my nose really look like that?"

I just shrugged.

"You really are special, Liz," she said. "When will they let you out in the public?"

"I think tomorrow," I said. "The Lieutenant told me when she came by this morning. Dad's orders."

I barely saw my dad when we arrived here. Everybody knew him, and for a good reason.

He was the Commander.

Commander Alexander Lawrence Ov...

"Oh, that's it!" I jumped up, turning back to the painting of my grandfather, to hear my human friend gasp behind me.

"Is that- He was-...?" Zoey choked out, tears welling. I looked up at the painting, surrounded by the unrelated black swirls, and smiled.

He was the one the Survivors told stories of.

Slowly, I painted a name into the bar. Each letter I painted made Zoey come closer to tears.

I put the final "K" into the name tag, and Zoey reached over to touch the word, wet with paint.

_OVERBECK_

**~Alex~**

"Damnit, Kate, _STOP STRUGGLING!_"

The Infected girl pushed against her restraints after clawing at one of the scientists, and I sighed in relief after someone told me he was immune.

I didn't need to lose another idiot.

"Katelyn- Oh, for the love of God..." I walked up to the screeching figure and slapped her as hard as I could. Almost immediately, her screeching stopped, as her eyes no longer glowed that creepy red. She looked up at me almost apologetically, then broke down in tears.

I felt bad for her. Not just right then and there, especially since I had to slap her to get her to stop, but ever since she arrived.

**-Arrival-**

"Sir," a soldier said, stepping into my office. He hesitated, waiting for permission to enter, and I smiled, gesturing to a seat. "At ease, soldier," I said, "I'm not Frank."

The last guy in charge, Franklin, was the original head at this base, but the idiot almost walked up to a feral Tank and was ripped in two within seconds.

Surprisingly, nobody missed him, but everybody was ecstatic to have me in charge. Whatever kind of bastard he was, it was enough to make everybody hate him.

"Well..." the soldier stammered, and I noticed the symbol on the shoulder of his uniform.

Private. Talk about willing to defend his country in the middle of this.

"Relax, son," I said, "any word on the new Survivors we contacted?"

The soldier seemed to tense up at that, and I was concerned. "Well, t-they actually arrived today," he said, "10 Survivors, 3 of them children."

"That's great!" I exclaimed, but his face told me he was hiding something. Before I got too excited, I sat back down. "The bad news?"

The private took a deep breath before speaking. "Well, 2 of those kids are Infected. A Hunter and a Witch, but..."

"But?" I questioned. "Now we're going to be more serious, but 'what' exactly?"

"T-they're both friendly i-it seems," he stammered, "And... The Witch, she's..."

"What. Is. She. Private?"

"Your daughter."

I froze.

My Elizabeth.

She's alive.

I almost forgot the soldier was speaking, and, despite the sudden news, I tuned him back in. "...after a few tests, your daughter and the Hunter both seem to have cleared the Infection enough from their head, however the Hunter'll probably need to be kept under lock for just a bit longer. Lansky wants to run a few more tests on him."

Lansky was the only Lieutenant who managed to get to the base alive and unharmed, but she also seemed to have a strong passion for experimenting with the virus. Thanks to her, we had at least 7 Infected cured of the virus almost completely (Although one of the Smokers was a bit hesitant to give up his ropelike tongue, but he agreed).

"Well, she's the only one who gives a damn about the Infected's feelings," I muttered, "what about the third kid?"

"Sir?"

"You mentioned a third child, Private."

"Oh, yes," he said, "Well, she's... We don't know. One minute she's clawing at anything, the next she's huddled in a corner muttering to herself."

"What strain is she?"

"Well..." the soldier started to stammer again, "We, we aren't sure, sir. It seems to be a mix between a Hunter and a Witch, but there's also things we've never seen befo-"

"I want to see her," I interrupted, the soldier staring blankly at me.

"Actually, all three. I wanna see my little girl."

"I-I'll let the test teams know immediately, sir," the private said, standing up. With a quick salute, he rushed out the door.

I leaned back in the chair, inhaling a deep breath of smoke from my cigar as I thought of one thing.

Elizabeth is alive.

Hopefully Dad's with her.

The third child came to mind after a while.

_'One minute she's clawing at anything, the next she's huddled in a corner...'_

_'...mix of a Hunter and a Witch...'_

**-Present-**

I looked back at the girl, balled up in a corner while the injured scientist was whisked away to the medics.

Aside from the longer claws, darker grey skin and sobbing, Katelyn looked like a Hunter. Dark green hoodie splattered in blood from the multiple injuries she inflicted, duct tape around the limbs, and dark, tattered jeans.

Suddenly, she looked up at me, and I stepped back slightly. "... **Bill**..." she muttered, before collapsing. The others took that time to bring her back to her room. No matter how violent she got, apparently she never harmed the Hunter.

"We discovered something else about her," Lansky said behind me, and I turned to see a single tear through her lab coat. "110 feet away, she managed to charge at me and almost pin me down in a mere second."

"Shit..." I muttered, looking at the doors as the guards carrying the unconscious girl closed it behind them. "I assume you told Liz when she'd be let out, right?" I asked, and she nodded. "Hey, do you have any reason as to why Kate said 'Bill' before passing out?"

Lansky thought for a while, biting her lip. "While I was meeting the Survivors, I did overhear a few of them mention Bill, but I wasn't sur-"

I already closed the doors behind me as I hurried to Liz's room.


	3. Impressions

**Chapter 3 here was partially written by a very special guest...**

**May I present this chapter to you, with Ellis' part written by the crazy die-hard parkour enthusiast that made her own character in my first story, Katelyn!**

**Apologies for this short chapter.**

**Fun Fact: Each Chapter title so far represents the characters that may be sharing their perspective, for example, ****_Overbeck _****is written in Alex's and Lizzie's perspective. **

**Chapter 3 - Impressions**

* * *

**~Jason~**

I could smell him before he entered the room.

Not that it was necessarily a bad thing. It just reminded me of Bill too much.

"Ah, you must be Jason," the dark uniformed man said as he walked in. My suspicious about his smell were right as I noticed the cigar sitting in the corner of his mouth, a soft trail of smoke drifting out of the lit end.

"Where," I demanded, staring the man in the face. I woke up today and realized Katelyn wasn't in the room at all. "Where's Katelyn."

Just met the guy, and already I didn't like him.

The man shifted his stance, removing his cigar as he came down to my level, eye to hood. "Your friend, Kate, she's... a bit ill," he said softly, but I knew there was more. If he was trying to lightly tell me she was Infected, I wasn't gonna buy it. "No she isn't," I spat. "Bit twice, never turned."

"Yes, I-I heard," the man said, and I eyed his uniform's tag.

_OVERBECK_

Where have I seen that?

"She's... I guess it's safe to say we don't know what she is right now, but leaving her with you was too dangerous," he said.

I didn't let up. "Where," I repeated, a bit louder. He sighed, replacing his cigar. "She's about 10 rooms down, in an electronically locked room," he said, and lifted my hood up to look at me in the eye. "We want to know what's happening to her as much as you do, but we're not going to risk anybody's life in the process, ok?"

As he stood up, he seemed to pause on the way to the door. "Oh, I don't think I introduced myself. I'm Alex Overbeck, the Commander here."

He opened the door, and paused yet again to say something. "When I'm all done with everything today, I might have you see the Survivors you came with," he said, "so try not to kill anybody before then." With that, he left, a soft click as the door shut.

...Wait, didn't Bill's uniform say Overbeck?

**~Ellis~**

"Y'ah remember that time you tried being all badass back at the gun store in Savanna when tha gun went off and almost shot yer-"

"Don't remind me, Ellis."

It's been about a day or so since we got back, and I was beyond happy that I didn't need to be looking behind my back to check for zombies anymore.

Although Jason was quite the entertainment.

They divided us into pairs in these large cabins that were all grouped together, and it was pretty surprising how well maintained the base was.

Coach and Rochelle went to one cabin near the front of the section, Nick and I in the one immediately across the road, and Zoey, Francis and Louis were crammed into the next one due to space.

Even when Bill's dead, he's still making them stay together.

Jason, Liz and Kate got brought to somewhere else in the seemingly endless base, which concerned me.

Why Katelyn?

"I already told ya, Ellis," Coach had said to me then, "she needs to get tested after those bites. She's not immune, and she hasn't changed."

It was a bit weird. When she was bit the first time, nothing happened until the sugar plantation when it started getting all discolored along with her acting all different. But by morning, it completely healed.

The second one in Louisiana... we couldn't even tell what was a bite wound from what was just from the bomb, and she, once again, was acting all funny when we got here.

If she turned inside the base, I don't even wanna know what kind of problem we'd have.

I have enough to deal with already.

I've been trying to forget about it all with stories, but it's hard when "it all" was going through oceans of ZOMBIES.

It's even harder when the guy you're stuck with complains about it.

But nonetheless, I'm keeping my promise to Keith.

_'Keep that smile on, kid. We need that optimism in tha world.'_

It was so cheesy but I kept it anyway.

I mean, so far it worked out pretty well, right?


	4. Fixed

**Here's the fixed version... I hope**

* * *

**~Francis~**

I just wanted one goddamn beer.

Was that too much to ask for? We get our asses into the base, only to find out the alcohol's locked away until everything's completely situated.

Fucking army people.

I just wanted to be back at that bar, beer in hand, with...

Huh, forgot her name.

Guess it didn't matter anymore with buckshot in her face.

"Francis, you don't have to hold your gun all the time anymore," Louis said, breaking me from my thinking.

"You don't know that, Louis!" I shot back. "How do we know the vampi- ZOMBIES won't get in?"

"Because there's top of the line motion detectors, infrared scanners, and every other type of damn equipment out there every 3 feet of the border," he said.

"Whatever, I'm not letting go of Beth," I said. We were stuck in the cabin alone since Zoey volunteered to be on the team to search for Survivors.

I stared out the window blankly, watching the other Survivors walk around, talk, come in and out of their own cabins.

Absolutely fucking boring.

"Louis, I'm gonna go out," I said, getting an acknowledging grunt from the dark man. For once, he finally straightened out his tie and tucked his shirt back in, so he looked almost... normal.

And my vest still gets the honor of having Boomer vomit on it.

_"Goddamnit, Bill,"_ I muttered, walking towards the gate of the compound, "_why did you die before I could get back at you..."_

I'm pretty sure the only job I was allowed to do here was guard duty. If I get to shoot, hell yeah I'll do it.

"Hey, Francis," one of the snipers said as I climbed up the ladder, "you still got another hour or so before your shift."

"Ah, it's alright," I said, "take your break now, I got nothing better to do."

The sniper seemed shocked for a second, since I was usually late, but muttered a "Thank you" as he climbed down.

Placing Beth gently on the ground, I picked up the sniper rifle and adjusted everything to my liking. Scope zoomed in enough to spot zombies but far out enough so it's not tunnel vision.

Then, I waited for anything to come out of the bushes.

In a way, it was sort of... calming.

Holy shit, I'm getting soft.

**~Nick~**

"Ah- hey Nick! How's it goin'?"

I went down to the Commander's office today to see if we could finally get private homes, which of course was a no for the time being, when I walked back to hear talking from the cabin.

"Who else is here?" I asked cautiously, stepping into the kitchen.

I stopped to see him sitting next to a tall, redhead woman, with a light scar running down her left cheek. She wore a stiff, dark suit I immediately recognized as Army.

Fuck.

"Hello, you must be Nick?" she said. Her voice was soft.

Too soft for me.

"Yeah," I shot at her, sitting down at the opposite end of the table. "What's going on?"

"Well, I'm Lieutenant Parker Lasky," she said, reaching out to shake my hand. I paused, but eventually shook it. "I just wanted to come around and discuss the status of your... 'younger' company."

I raised an eyebrow. That was the stupidest way to say _'The children you fought zombies with want to eat you now._' "So, they finally went crazy?"

She seemed shocked at this. "Actually, no, no it's the opposite!" That was a surprise. "In fact, the girl Elizabeth has almost completely naturally cured-"

"Wait, what do you mean 'naturally?'" I raised my voice, tensing up a bit. "Sir, please, relax," she said, "I'll explain everything if you just listen."

I leaned in, eyeing her and waiting semi-patiently for whatever shit she'd say.

"First, the virus is unique for everybody. Methods for curing it have to change from infection to infection. We've only managed to cure a handful of Infected here in the base. But Liz's seems to have mutated in a way that becomes less and less volatile as it lives inside her."

I leaned back in my chair, taking it in. "Go on..." She smiled as she continued.

"Now, Jason's is slightly different. The virus has practically left a permanent mark on his DNA, which would be too dangerous and impossible to fix at the rate it's progressed in his body. However, mentality-wise, it's had less of an impact on him. Mostly mere memory faults, but he seems to remember random fragments of his life. But his mutation of the Hunter strain seems to be more powerful than the typical one we see. For example, he managed to leap 84 feet at a target that was 60 feet away." Holy SHIT... "The fact that he exceeded 50 feet was personally amazing to me, but it proves that he's a bit different. He should be let out within these next few days. I just want to run some blood tests to ensure he isn't contagious."

"What about Katelyn?" I asked, and noticed her nervousness, "What the hell happened to her on that chopper?"

She seemed to hesitate, going over what to say. "Well, you probably noticed the scar on my cheek," she said, and I nodded. "Katelyn managed to attack me from 110 feet."

"Wait what," Ellis asked, suddenly shocked at the news. I guess that's where she was at when I came in.

"Y-yes, Katelyn seems to have been infected with something we've never encountered before."

My first bet was Jockey, seeing as those were extremely hard to find, but the thought of that girl looking like that made me shudder. "So, what's this new strain like?"

"Damnit, Nick, how are you so calm with this?!" Ellis yelled at me, "Katelyn's INFECTED. How are you not in the least a bit worried?!"

"I wanna know what happened before I do anything," I replied. I looked back to Lansky, "Continue."

She cleared her throat before speaking again. "Well, it's still a bit sketchy, but her infection is somewhat of a mutation between a Hunter and a Witch. It also seems to act on some form of bipolar syndrome or massive personality mood swings, where she'd act in a fit of rage one minute, then cower from us the next."

"Could each side of the mutation be caused by a bite?" I asked. I knew Kate was bitten twice, one was a Witch that came out of nowhere before the bomb fell in New Orleans. The other looked like a certain Hunter I happened to know.

"That's our theory, but we don't want to speculate," she replied, "but I wanted to just let you two know."

Lansky stood up, shook our hands, and walked out the door to inform everybody else.

So far, everything seemed to be going as I thought.

Down a shithole.


	5. Release

**Holy crap, El Barto actually read my stories! Thanks!**

**Speaking of, check out his story Safe Haven if you haven't already, it's actually really interesting!**

**-Release-**

* * *

**~Lizzie~**

"Hello?"

I knew that voice.

In all my dreams.

"Dad?!" I turned around sharply to see a tall man with a dark suit and multiple patches on it. His hair was slightly graying, and had dark, grey eyes.

It was my father.

I jolted up and grabbed him in a bear hug. I let the tears flow down my face, still being wary of my claws.

"Hey there, Liz," he said calmly, but I could hear his voice quiver just a little as he returned my hug with his own tight squeeze. He lifted me up in the air as I squealed, and held me there for a second.

"So you're the camp's little artist?" he asked me cheerfully, and I shrugged. "I'm not really that good," I said, but he made a short laugh as he looked around the room. I could see his reaction to each one by his face, and had a huge grin when he noticed the one of grandpa Bill and I.

"Wow, is that Bill?" he said, and I made a small "Yup" in response. He spent what seemed like years looking at that painting, then something seemed to pop into his mind.

"Speaking of the old man, where is he?"

Oh no...

_He doesn't know._

"Dad..." I choked out, but I couldn't finish it. I hoped the look on my face was enough to tell him. He glanced at me once before I saw all the light and joy drain from his face.

"Oh..." His gray hairs were pitch black compared to how pale his face grew. I gave him one more strong hug, before he turned and opened the door. "Well, Liz," he said, gesturing out the hall, "I think you've suffered long enough in here, eh?"

I smiled at him as I left the room, looking back at my painting of me and my grandfather. The lone mixture of green and tan among the sea of black surrounding it. I gave it a sort of mini-salute before following Dad down the hallway.

**~Jason~**

Well, at least that Alex guy kept his word.

Within a few hours of him stopping by, Lansky and a couple guards came in to let me out. Even though I was expecting the commander himself I was still excited.

I had to pick a cabin to stay in, and I immediately knew which one.

So here I was, hanging upside-down from the ceiling, waiting for Francis to arrive from his guard duty.

Louis was mostly ignoring me, sucked into his work on an old radio he found.

"He's gonna kill you, Jason," he finally spoke up, and I was about to say something until Francis threw the door open.

"Hey, Lou-"

I jumped down almost immediately as Francis yelped like a girl, but it took me a second to realize he was carrying a shotgun.

A loaded shotgun.

_"AH SHIT HUNTER!"_ he yelled, aiming the gun at me, when Louis hopped up from his seat and tackled Francis.

"_WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!"_ Francis yelled as he swung for Louis, but he moved out of the way as I pinned him down.

"I'm sorry I'll never steal or drink or whine ever again just don't kill me!" he screamed, and I managed to hold my crazy look before rolling over, laughing. "Wha... Wait, what the fuck," he stammered, confused.

"H... Hi Francis!" I said between laughs, trying to calm myself down but I just couldn't.

The guy almost pissed himself.

"Wh... GODDAMNIT JASON!" he yelled, looking like he was ready to strangle me, but I knew he never would.

"Alright, enough you two," Louis said, getting between us, "you'll probably attract every infected within a couple miles-"

"Yeah yeah, we know," the biker interrupted, "'Blah blah, keep quiet, don't step on the sleeping Witch..." I wanted to ask if he actually did step on a Witch at some time, but decided against it.

"Where's Zoey?" I just realized that Zoey wasn't here, and from what I heard, the three of them were stuck in this cabin (If it could be called one, it's so big...).

"Princess thinks she needs to help every damn Survivor that gets here," Francis said, earning a nudge from Louis. "What? It's true!"

Almost as if on cue, a large military truck pulled in, and a girl in a light red, almost pink jacket jumped out, holstering two pistols as she walked towards us. "Huh, well there she is," Francis said.

Zoey opened the door while she seemed to be humming some song, when she stopped dead when she saw me. "Well, look who finally got to come visit!"

"Hi Zoey," I said, and we had a short hug.

I'm not sure why, but ever since I joined the group all the girls wanted to be my friend. Hell, even Rochelle, who has a serious grudge against Hunters, has no problem with me.

Francis had said it's because they all wanted a pet zombie, but I ignored it.

"So, what are you doing here?" she asked, when Louis spoke up. "He's bunkmate number 4," he said, already back to work on his radio. Zoey had a smile on her face, probably from the fact I had an actual home outside the labs, while Francis looked absolutely mortified. "Wait, he's WHAT?!" He gave me a death stare while I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Yeah, Lieutenant Lansky got finished early with all the important stuff," Louis explained, "now he gets to sleep in a home and go back periodically for odds and ends."

Francis groaned as I laughed at his misery.

This'll be fun.


End file.
